Yahweh (song)
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"Yahweh" is a song by
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band U2 and the eleventh track on their 2004 album ''
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'' is the eleventh studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was released on 22 November 2004 in the United Kingdom by Island Records and a day later in the United States by Interscope Records. Much like their previ ...
''. It was mainly recorded in one take, and was performed live by the band during the
Vertigo Tour The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2004 album ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'', the tour visited arenas and stadiums between March 2005 and December 2006. The Vertigo Tour ...
. The song received mixed reviews from critics.


Writing and recording

"Yahweh" was written by U2 and recorded by ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'' producer Chris Thomas. Prior to the song's initial recording, the band's lead guitarist
The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...
had the ideas for the music already planned. Lead vocalist
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
later added the vocals spontaneously during the song's first take.Stokes (2005), p. 183 The original vocal take by Bono was so inspiring with "soaring and brilliant" melodies that it carried "Yahweh" in a dramatic new direction from what The Edge had previously envisioned. Moreover, most of what was recorded by the band and Chris Thomas during the initial take survived production. Subsequent recording attempts of "Yahweh" were made by two other producers for the album,
Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie ...
and
Steve Lillywhite Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Big ...
, with Lanois even adding a
mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
in one take of the song. Ultimately however, the original Thomas recording of "Yahweh" was left mostly untouched. During its first take, Bono came up with the "Yahweh line" almost immediately. Afterwards, the band decided that "it was one of those songs that had to be written". When talking about ideas for the song's theme Bono remarked, "I had this idea that no one can own
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, but everybody wants to put flags on it." he explained, "The title's an ancient name that's not meant to be spoken. I got around it by singing. I hope I don't offend anyone." "
Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he posse ...
" (יהוה) is the name of the Judeo-Christian God in both the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
. The oldest Hebrew manuscripts present the name in the form of four consonants, commonly called the
Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew language, Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', ''he (l ...
(from Greek te·tra-, meaning "four", and gram′ma, "letter"). These four letters (written from right to left) are יהוה, transliterated into English as YHWH or JHVH. "Jehovah" is the best known English pronunciation of the divine name, although "Yahweh" is favored by most Hebrew scholars. Some Jews avoid pronouncing the name "Yahweh". Although, it is often believed that the name does not appear in the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
, the oldest fragments of the Greek
Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...
do contain the divine name in its Hebrew form. The Tetragrammaton was later replaced by "
kyrios ''Kyrios'' or ''kurios'' ( grc, κύριος, kū́rios) is a Greek word which is usually translated as "lord" or "master". It is used in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew scriptures about 7000 times, in particular translating the name ...
" in the Septuagint copies.


Live performances

"Yahweh" was performed live by U2 during the Vertigo Tour. In May 2005, the band performed an acoustic version of the song live in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
at the
United Center United Center is an indoor arena on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is home to the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is named ...
. This live version of "Yahweh" was later included as the twenty-second track on the band's concert film '' Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago''. The band also played the song live during the closing credits of their 2008 concert film ''
U2 3D ''U2 3D'' is a 2008 American-produced 3D concert film featuring rock band U2 performing during the Vertigo Tour in 2006. The film contains performances of 14 songs, including tracks from ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'' (2004), the album supp ...
''.


Reception

"Yahweh" received mainly mixed reviews from critics, many of whom had different interpretations of the song. Christopher Gray of ''
The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
'' called the song the "closing prayer" of the album and thought the song was ambiguous, saying that it "could be about
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
or the two kids Bono and wife, Ali, have had since ''
All That You Can't Leave Behind ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'' is the tenth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, and was released on 30October 2000 through Island Records and Interscope Records. Following the band's experiment ...
''." Despite the song's religious message Anna Kaufman of the ''
Daily Californian ''The Daily Californian'' (''Daily Cal'') is an independent, student-run newspaper that serves the University of California, Berkeley, campus and its surrounding community. It formerly published a print edition four days a week on Monday, Tuesd ...
'' liked that the band does not seem to be preaching in the song. Writing that, "Rather, they seem to be offering up to God, to the world, to their fellow man - questions and concerns, hopes and dreams." Reviewer Justin Cober-Lake of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' did not like the song saying "It's a shame that ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'' has to end with the dud of "Yahweh", because it's actually a quite good album." Cober-Lake also criticised the guitar composition of the song adding that "the main guitar part sounds as if The Edge wrote it in his sleep -- sticking close to the formula without livening it up."


References

Footnotes Bibliography * *


External links


"Yahweh" lyrics
at U2.com {{Authority control 2004 songs Songs written by Adam Clayton Songs written by Bono Songs written by the Edge Songs written by Larry Mullen Jr. U2 songs Yahweh Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer)